New York, New York
by Aoi Kobayashi
Summary: Based on episodes 8-10 of YPP! While the new Team Ichigo visits Tennouji-san in New York, new adventures await them!
1. New York, New York

**Me: Hello, hello all my wonderful friends and readers!**

**Ichigo: Hey Aoi-chan! It's been a while! ^^  
Me: Yeah, well it's almost summer vacation for me so might as well start writing! :D  
Ichigo: So what is this story about?  
Me: Well, it's when you, Kashino-kun and the others went to visit Tennouji-senpai in New York! **

**Ichigo: Oh, cool! Can't wait to read it! ^^**

**Me: Note that this story is not gonna be exactly how it went in the anime but it's still the same concept! X3 I hope you enjoy anyway!**

**Ichigo: Aoi doesn't own Yumeiro Patissiere! :)**

* * *

_Italics - Means that someone is talking in English_

* * *

_New York, New York_

**Ichigo's POV**

I was in total awe! Who knew that my first time in America would be in New York? The Big Apple! The City that Never Sleeps! I'm so excited I cant even feel the winter chill!

"Wow! We're actually here!" I cheered while Johnny suddenly picked me up.

"_WELCOME TO NEW YORK!_"

Kashino sighed, "Cut it out, we're in public!"

"I'm glad that Henri-sensei let us come!" Lemon-chan said trying to change the subject.

_*Flashback*_

_"Tomorrow, I'd like all of you to head to New York." Henri-sensei said though web chat._

_"Tomorrow?" We all said at the same time._

_"I want you to visit Mari's shop. It could help you in the future."_

_"For how long?" Asked Kashino._

_"Maybe 2-3 weeks."  
"Wow! A whole month in New York!" I said with stars in my eyes._

_"Be sure to contact me when you arrive. Good luck."_

_*End of Flashback*_

As Johnny put me down, I asked, "So what do you want to do now? Should we go visit Tennouji-san?"

"Well, it's already getting late. Let's just head to the apartment Henri-sensei rented for us and settle in. We've already been walking around the city ever since we left the airport," Said Kashino.

"Yeah, I am starting to get a little tired," Lemon-chan added.

"Okay sure."

~xXx~

I would say the apartment we're going to be staying at, might have been runner up of the apartment I stayed at in Paris. The outside looks like a "normal" building you'd see in Paris and the inside has a nice ivory-grey kind of color and decent furniture.

"Not bad," Kashino said looking around. "Why don't you guys get your stuff and-!"

"I get the first bedroom!" I said already running up the stairs.

"I-Ichigo-senpai! Wait!" Said Lemon-chan fallowing me up the stairs.

"HEY! GET YOUR BUTTS BACK HERE!"

"Wait you guys! I want to look too!" Chocolat said while flying after us.

"Oh great.. you too Chocolat?"

* * *

**Normal POV**

"So, what should we do for dinner?" Lemon-chan asked Ichigo as they we're unpacking. Apparently there were only two rooms with two beds so they had to share.

"I'm not sure..." Ichigo said trying to think.

"Are there any restaurants we can go to?" Asked Vanilla.

"Im sure there is-deshi. But don't we have to change the money to American-deshi?" Mint said.

"Yeah, you're right. It's already 8:00 so we'll probably have to wait till morning." Ichigo said in a gloomy way with her stomach growling

_*DING DONG*_

"Huh? Who is that?" Lemon-chan asked.

"I dont know... I'll get the door!" Ichigo shouted as she ran down the stairs.

"Yes? Who is it?" When Ichigo answered, a girl about her age that had long black hair with dark-brown high-lights and eyes with the same dark-brown color was at the door. She was also carrying a basket of food.

"_Hi!" _The girl said.

_"H-hello! Uh.. C-can I help you?" _Said Ichigo doing her best at her English.

"Amano! Who is at the door?" Kashino asked while coming down the stairs.

"Amano?" The girl said. "Are you Japanese?"

Ichigo had a puzzled look on her face. "Huh? Uh, yeah..."

"Oh good! No need to talk American anymore!" She said laughing. "Can I come in?" As she came inside the apartment, everyone else was heading downstairs.

"So, who are you?" Asked Ichigo as she closed the door.

"My name is Manabe Shizuku, but you can call me Shizuku-chan. I live right next door with my dad, sister, and brother."

"I'm Amano Ichigo! Nice to meet you Shizuku-chan! These are my friends Yamagishi Lemon, Kashino Makoto and Johnny McBeal."

_"So you're Shizuku? Nice to meet you!"_ Johnny said while picking her up.

_"2 things hon, 1.) My dad's a cop. 2.) I know we just met and all, but put me down before I kill you."_ Shizuku said in a sharp tone.

"_You're a feisty one I see," Johnny said giving out a slow whistle and placing her down._

_"Of course! I'm from New York!_ Oh, sorry everyone! Didn't mean to be so rude."_  
_

"It's okay, we didn't really understand what you were saying anyway," said Ichigo with Lemon nodding in agreement.

"You have one sharp tongue Manabe." Said Kashino with a smirk on his face.

_He knew what they were saying? _Ichigo and Lemon-chan thought.

Shizuku laughed. "Heh, thanks!"

"So why are you here Shizuku-chan?" Lemon-chan asked.

"Oh well I heard you were staying here for a while, so I thought I'd bring you my dad's handmade New York style pizza and some of my fresh apple pie to welcome you guys!"

"Y-you didn't have to do that," said Ichigo who was actually really happy.

"No it's okay! I don't mind! Plus, my family always brings fresh food to our neighbors once in a while. Here!" She said while handing Ichigo the basket.

"Well.. thank you!"

"That was nice of her!" Said Vanilla.

"Mmmm! The smell of that pie is so good!" Chocolat said.

Shizuku eyes widened and she looked around.

"Is something wrong Shizuku-chan?" Asked Lemon-chan.

"Huh? O-oh yeah! I'm fine!" Shizuku said shaking her head while heading out the door. "Well enjoy the food! And welcome to New York!"

~xXx~

"That was nice of Shizuku-chan," said Maize.

"Yeah! Well let's eat!" Ichigo removed the blanket on top of the basket and took out the pizza and pie.

"Wow! That looks so good!" Ichigo squealed.

"_Yes!_ The color of that pizza is amazing!" Said Johnny.

"She said her dad made the pizza and she made the pie, right?" Kashino asked.

"Yeah," said Ichigo. "It looks like she made hers the old fashioned way by the looks of it." The apples of the pie were sparkling, coated with apple sauce and cinnamon under the strips of pie crust. They started cutting it after they ate the pizza.

"Oh my gosh! This is really good! The apples are really warm and it gives you a soothing feeling since it's covered with apple sauce!" Said Ichigo, giving her "thousand words" on sweets.

"Yeah. And the crust is really crispy on the outside but on the inside it's really fluffy," Kashino added. "She's good." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, we should thank her tomorrow!" Lemon-chan mentioned.

~xXx~

The next morning, everyone got ready to head to Tennouji-san's shop. Just then, Ichigo came back inside the apartment.

"She wasn't there."

"Since it's around mid December, her school is probably on break. Maybe she went out for the day." Kashino said.

"Just return the basket this afternoon 'kay?" Said Vanilla.

Ichigo nodded. "Alright then, let's get going!"

Walking though the streets of New York wasn't easy. There was people, cars, traffic, and people. Eventually they found the shop.

"There it is!" Said Lemon-chan pointing at it. "Patisserie La Liberte!"

"_Welcome!"_ Said a voice as they walked in.

"Huh?" Ichigo said in surprise. "Shizuku-chan?"

"Ichigo? You guys? Heh, welcome!"

* * *

**Me: So guys, how was it?**

**Ichigo: I love it! **

**Me: Thank's Ichigo! Review guys~! ;) Love you all!**


	2. Adventures in New York

**Me: Great news my friends! Today is my last day of school! That means more fan fictions! And I am just BURSTING with ideas! Check the list of stories I plan on writing on my profile!**

**Farine: That's great Aoi!**

**Me: Ready for Chapter 2? :)**

**Farine: Totally! All rights belong to Matsumoto Natsumi-sensei!  
**

**~xXx~**

**_Reviews:  
_StrawberryDream15 - Of course you can Hana-chan! XD And thanks for being my first reviewer!**

**SugarADdIccT - Hahaha, thank you! Yeah, like I was watching the NY episodes and I was like, "Come on, three episodes? That's it? " And then boom! I had the idea for this story! :D**

* * *

_Adventures in New York!_

**Normal POV**

"Welcome to Patisserie La Liberte, Ichigo and friends!" Shizuku said in a cheery voice.

"Shizuku-chan? You work here?" Asked Ichigo.

"Yeah! Part-time! During school breaks and weekends!"

"For how long?" Johnny asked.

"For a few months. So far, Tennouji-senpai and Rick have taught me alot!"

"Huh?" Everyone said at the same time.

"Uh... I said Tennouji-senpai and- "

"Yeah we heard you there..." said Lemon-chan.

"But didn't you also say..." Ichigo started, then _he _came right behind and pulled her in and hugging her.

"ICHIGO! I knew it, we really connected by the red-string-of-fate!"

"R-Rick?"Ichigo said in surprise.

"Quit it Rick, you're scaring the poor thing."

"I know you're jealous Shizuku."

"Ha! As if! By the way Ichigo-chan, how do you know him?"

"Me and Kashino met him in Paris during the Cake Grand Pix. Lemon-chan was on his team too."

"I feel sorry you had to put up with him." Shizuku said sighing in a playful way and everyone laughed.

"Here, you guys take a seat and I'll get you some hot coffee! Rick can you get some cake?"

~xXx~

"Why are you guys here," asked Shizuku as she place the last cup of coffee on the table.

"We're here to visit Tennouji-san!" Replied Ichigo.

"Tennouji-senpai? She's out for the moment but she should be back soon. You know her too?"

"Yeah, she was in the Cake Grand Pix too and she was also our Senpai at St. Marie Academy Japan Bra-!"

"WAIT!" Shisuku said slamming her hands on the table. "YOU GUYS GO TO ST. MARIE ACADEMY? NOT ONLY THAT YOU WERE TENNOUJI-SENPAI'S UNDERCLASSMEN?"

Everyone looked at her with a blank face. "Uh, y-yeah..." said Kashino.

"Wow~! Tennouji-senpai would tell me stories of her journeys at St. Marie and Paris! After she told me a couple of times, I've always dreamed of going there! Tell me! I bet you guys even met the wonderful Henri Lucas right?"

They all nodded, a little amused on her personality.

"Man! I hate you! I've always wanted to meet that man I've heard so much about in the world of sweets!"

"You want to become a patissiere Shizuku-chan?" Ichigo asked.

Shizuku sat down and smiled. "Yeah!"

"Is it okay if I ask why?"

Shizuku's smile slowly turned into a frown. "...Sure. I want to become a patissiere... Um, it's because well, when I was younger, I used to get teased alot because I ate so much cake and sweets. They'd call me a pig, fat, or greedy. Not only that, they would mostly waste some of the snack we would have during lunch and throw them out before they even finish. On the last day of 9th grade, I finally stood up to them and said 'I'll show you! Sweets are not meant to make people look bad! They make you happy and they make you smile! Just you watch! I'll make the best sweet's there is!' And so, Tennouji-senpai finally accepted to teach me. I owe a lot to her"

Everyone was all quiet. Taking in the moment, then Shizuku continued.

"But that... That's when I met a special friend of mine." Suddenly a gold color shined behind her hair. A gold color with wings.

"Shizuku-chan, is that a-!"

"I'd like you all to meet Ringo, my sweet's spirit. Everybody else can come out as well!" Ichigo, Kashino, Lemon-chan and Johnny we all surprised. Rick just smiled and headed back to the kitchen since he already knew about her little secret.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Vanilla, Ichigo's spirit."

"I'm Kashino's spirit, Chocolat."

"I'm Mint-deshi. And Lemon is my partner-deshi"

"And I am Maize, Johnny's partner! Nice to meet ya girl!"

"Nice to meet all of you. Ringo is my name. I specialize in any sweets with apple!" Ringo had gold colored hair that she kept tied up and black-cherry colored eyes. She also wore a red dress with a white apron and a matching headdress and read heels. (A/N: I know, that's a bad description... look on my profile for the link!)

"Awww! She's so cute!" Said Lemon-chan.

"Yeah, when did-!"

"Huh? Amano-san?" Said a familiar voice. Ichigo and the others looked back.

"Tennouji-san!"

* * *

**Ichigo's POV**

"Tennouji-san! Wow, it's good to see you again!" I said as I walked up to her.

"How have you been?" Asked Kashino.

"You guys.. What are you doing here?" She said slightly confused.

_"Princess Mari_! I'm Johnny McBeal! Nice to meet you!" Johnny came next to her about to, well, you know, but Shizuku-chan stopped him before he could.

"_Dont lay a hand on Tennouji-senpai. Got that, Johnny?" _Wow... who knew Shizuku-chan had a dark side...

"Henri-sensei sent us here!" I said.

"H-Henri-sensei...?" Her voice got low and her face started to look unhappy.

"Um, he said to help out at your shop..."

"Oh, is that so? Well you guys just came, so why dont you take this day to look around the city? Manabe-san, you can be excused for the day, why dont you show them around?"

"I cant do that Senpai! I'll stay here and work with you! It's okay, Johnny can show them!"  
"Yeah, about that... something came up so I cant do it. Sorry, I better get going!"

"Okay.. so much for that, but really, I'll stay here!" Shizuku-chan had alot of determination in her eyes.

Tennouji-san sighed a little and gave a weak smile. "Alright then, you can stay. Amano-san, will you and the others be fine walking around the city?"

"Huh? Yeah, we'll be fine! Might as well get going then. We'll see you later Shizuku-chan!" I said as we were heading out the door.

"See you later!" She said waving.

~xXx~

As we were walking out, I saw a girl with dark skin and gold hair with curls in front of the shop. Hmmm, is she a regular customer?

"Ichigo-senpai!" Said Lemon-chan. "You mind if I go visit a friend that is studying abroad here?"

"Sure! Will you okay by yourself?"

"Yeah," she said laughing. "You act like my mom! I'll be fine! See you!"

When she ran off, Kashino came behind me. "You really are like Team Ichigo's mother."

I looked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. So, where do you wanna head first," he asked.

I took out the tour guide from my bag. "Well, there are alot of sweets shops I want to check out! And I aslo want to visit Central Park, Times Square, and The Empire State Building."

"Sweets shops... of course..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Let's get going!"

~xXx~

I. Am. In. Heaven. From mini cheesecakes to pancakes with bananas and nuts. It was total paradise for me.

"I never knew that New York had a lot of these kinds of shops!" I cheered as we were walking though Central Park  
Kashino nodded. "But, none of these are "American" sweets. They are just sweets that originated form other countries with a different recipe and taste, but it's still the same thing."

Now that I think about it, Johnny said something similar to that when we were opining our shop back in Japan. "Yeah, I guess. Brownies, chiffon cake, and cotton candy, those are some sweets that originated here."

He nodded. "Johnny told you that right?"

I was surprised. "Wait, how did you know?"

"Huh? O-oh, nothing never mind." _Because I heard him tell you everything about his "dream" back then._

"Okay, where to next?" I asked him.

It's already 5:30. You want to head back?" He said.

"To Tennouji-san's shop?"

"No, to the apartment. If we're gonna be there with her, let her plan it all out first."

"Alright then."

~xXx~

As we were walking back through the busy side walks of Times Square, I noticed a concern look on Kashino's face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well I was wondering... Back at Tennouji-san's shop, it seemed a bit empty. There were a lot of sweets on display, yet-"  
I didn't hear a word he said because I smelled something really mouth watering.

"This smell... it's popcorn- with caramel sauce!" I said running off.

"Hey! Amano! Wait!" I heard Kashino say behind me.

I continued running until someone grabbed my arm and covered my mouth. Is it one of those perverts Johnny told me about the day we left?

"Amano! Where are you?"

"Vanilla!"

I was struggling to break free as I saw Kashino and Chocolat pass by me. I tried to see if Vanilla was after them, but she wasn't.

"OH HOHOHOHOHO!"  
Wait- is that who I think it is?

_"I love Ma-ko-to-kun!"_

"K-Koshiro-san? Why is she on screen?" I said when the "pervert" finally let go of me.

"Johnny?"

"H-hi..."

I saw vanilla break free of Maize's grip too.

"Maize?"

"H-hi..."  
I turned back to Johnny. "Why would you do something like this?"

"Sorry. Miya asked me to."

"Koshiro-san?" I turned back to see the screen but instead I saw her helicopter and faintly heard Kashino scream. I sighed.

"Well," said Johnny. "Why dont we head back to the apartment?"

I looked at him, slightly shook my head and walked away.

"Ichigo! Wait, sorry but-!"

"Hurry up! It's starting to get cold!" I ran off and he ran behind me, along with Vanilla and Maize.

~xXx~

When we finally got back to the apartment, Kashino was there but he looked dead.

"Is he alright?" I asked Lemon-chan as i took off my shoes.

"Yeah. Just came back from a "ride" from Koshiro-senpai."

"I almost forgot, Henri-sensei said to contact him, once we settled in." I said.

"Oh okay. I'll go get my laptop" Lemon-chan said running upstairs. I went by Kashino, who was sitting at the dining table with his head down.

"Y-you okay?" I asked nervously.

"Kill me now..." He mumbled in a depressed way. "Just kill me now..."

"I'm not gonna kill you," I responded patting his back.

"Alright, I got it," Lemon-chan said sitting down with us."

"Okay! Come on sit up." I said to Kashino.

As I logged in and turned on the webcam, I asked, "What time is it?"

"7:30," Johnny said.

"Okay so it's probably 6 or 7 in Japan... here, it's on! Come on guys!"

"Good evening, Team Ichigo," said Henri-sensei.

"Good Morning, Henri-sensei," I said smiling.

"Have all you settled in?"

"Yes, late last night."

"Now, I asked you to call me, because I have something to discuss about Mari."

"Tennouji-san?"

"Yes... Apparently, her shop, has not been going too well."  
We were all shocked. "What?" We all yelled.

"What do you mean?" Lemon-chan said.  
"Ever since the shop opened, sales have been low."

"Is that the reason you sent us here to new York?" Asked Kashino.

Henri-sensei nodded. "Yes. I was hoping you could do something to help and find out why. I have already given Mari her final warning. And if she doesn't improve, I'm going to have to let someone else take charge. I'll speak to you later. Good luck." Then he logged off.

"I can't believe it..." I said.

"And I thought Tennouji-san was a genius," said Johnny.

"She _is_ a genius!" Lemon-chan said.

"We have to think of a plan!" Kashino announced and we all nodded.

"Honey-sama must be very worried," said Vanilla.

"We have to help," Maize said.

"How?" Said Chocolat giving out a little sigh.

"Yeah, how?" Said a familiar voice.

We all looked up. "Marron? What are you doing here?" Vanilla asked.

Kashino's face turned frozen. "Oh right, I forgot..."

"OH HOHOHOHOHO!"

"...She fallowed me here..." He finished.

"Koshiro-san?" I said.

"Did you hear that?" She said to Marron.

"I sure did!"

"If you dont mind, I'm going to go pay Tennouji-san a visit!" She laughed as they both walked out.

"...GET HER!" Kashino yelled as we stood up.

~xXx~

**Normal POV**

_"Five-hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. F__ive-hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred journeys to plan. __Five-hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure the life of a woman or a man?" _Shizuku sang as she was wiping the tables.

_"In truths that she learned or at times that he cries. In bridges he burned or the way that she died!" _Ringo sang along with her.

Rick came into the room. "You watched _Rent _again Shizuku-san?"

"Yeah," she said laughing. "How is Tennouji-senpai?" She whispered.

Rick sighed and gave a weak smile. "She's hanging in there."

"I'm really worried about her... we haven't had that many customers either so-!"

"OH HOHOHOHOHO! Tennouji-san? May I have a word with you?"

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Shizuku asked after Koshiro-san made her "appearance."

"What? How dare you not know the amazing Koshiro Miya-!" She said before Ichigo and the others tackled her.

"Ichigo? You guys, what are you doing here?" Shizuku cried bending over them as they were holding Koshiro-san down.

_"Good evening Shizuku!" _Johnny cheered as he stepped over everyone.

"Johnny! What is the meaning of this?" She said demanding an answer.

"Well..." He started to say.

"What is going on out here?" Tennouji-san said as she came in.

"Tennouji-senpai..." Shizuku said sounding nervous.

"Tennouji-san, is it true that Henri-sensei said that if you don't improve you're sales, they're going to replace you as the shops owner?" Ichigo said bluntly.

"Nice going Ichigo..." Vanilla mumbled.

"What?" Shizuku said shocked.

Everyone looked at Tennouji-san as she looked down and sighed. "Yes..."

"How come you didn't mention this to me?" Asked Shizuku.

Then it got quiet.

* * *

**Me: Done! Now, I can get ready for my sister's graduation ceremony! *Zooms***

**Farine: Review everyone! And thanks for reading!**


	3. La Liberte Takes on New York Part 1

**Me: Hey guys! Ugh, who would have known that summer break is... hectic. We're in the middle of a stupid heat wave and I've been doing summer reading. Let, me just give you news about my stories.**

_**Sweet Melody ****- Uhhh, working on the 3 chapter, bit slow, but working on it.**_

_**Dream-Colored Finale - ...Dear God I may have to start over on that... (_ _lll) Im banging my head on the wall with that story for some reason...**_

**Me: I'm struggling, right now, but I'll hang in there as long as I can! Enjoy chapter 3! I dont own anything!**

**_~xXx~_**

**_Reviews:_  
**

**_StrawberryDream15 - Arigatou Hana-chan! :D Yeah, I have to watch the episodes any way for reference. ^^_**

**_SugarADIccT - Ahh, dont worry, it's manga what can you do? XD Yeah, I have a really fun time giving Shizuku alot of personality! I plan on making a little side story on her later on in the story too. You'll be surprised. But not too surprised :)_**

* * *

_* Italics * - Flashbacks (Getting kinda tired of the "Flashback* + *End of Flashback* stuff X3)_

* * *

_La Liberte takes on New York - Part 1_

**Normal POV**

"Have you come up with a plan to fix all of this Senpai?" Shizuku asked.

"Well, yes, but I have been busy... lately." Tennouji-san said, a little uneasy.

"Well Henri-sensei, said to help you out, so we'll think of something. "Ichigo added.

Tennouji-san looked suprised. "That's why Henri-sensei sent you here?"

"Yeah..."

"I see... Well it's getting late. I want all of you to head back and get some rest."

"But Senpai..." Shizuku said, her voice with slight worry.

"I should get back to the kitchen now." Tennouji-san said walking away.

Everyone was silent for a moment until Koshiro-san said, "HEY! You think you can get off me now?"

"Well, I'll start on MY plan while you work on yours!" She added as everyone got up.

"And what is that exactly?" Chocolat asked nervously.

"Oh, you'll see!" Said Marron. And they left.

"What should we do?" Lemon-chan asked.

"Well, like Mari said, you guys should head home and rest. We should talk about this tomorrow morning. And that means you too Shizuku," Rick said and everyone nodded.

"Fine, I'll go get my stuff," Shizuku mumbled as she stepped out.

"Well then we'll be going now! See you tomorrow!" Ichigo said waving.

A couple of minutes after they left, Shizuku came back all bundled up. "Hey Rick. That girl is back again." At least once a day, that girl with dark skin and gold curls, would stop by to see the show case of the shop.

"Maybe she's too nervous to come in?"  
Rick shook his head. "No, I dont think so..."

* * *

**Ichigo's POV**

After we came back to the apartment, we almost stayed up all night thinking of a plan, but gave up around 1:30AM.

As Lemon-chan and me were trying to sleep, I just couldnt. I was sleepy, but I was too focused on helping Tennouji-san.

"Lemon-chan, are you awake?"

"Uh-huh," She said sitting up. "You?"

I shook my head. "No. I just cant stop thinking about Tennouji-san. She's never like this. She sounded very hesitant today and more serious. I wonder what has gotten into her."

"Maybe she's just not comfortable here yet," Mint said.

Lemon-chan and I disagreed. "It's Tennouji-san we're talking about." She said.

Suddenly we heard a small knock on our window. The apartment was a couple of feet away from Shizuku's place so it could probably be just a squirrel or something. I turned on the side-table lamp and pushed open the curtains. It was Ringo and Shizuku waving from her window. Oh yeah, she had a sweets spirit.

As I opened the window, the cold winter air slowly came in. "Hey, Shizuku-chan!" I said.

"Hey Ichigo! Morning!"

"Are you always up this late?"

"Yeah... I'm either on the computer or reading while listing to music. Right now, it's reading. How bout you? Why you up this late?"

"The four of us were thinking of a plan to help Tennouji-san," Lemon-chan said joining in. "But, we couldn't sleep. Oh, here's your basket. We all enjoyed the food the other day."

Lemon-chan leaned over the window as far as she could go to hand over Shizuku-chan and she did the same.

"Thanks, glad you liked it!" She said smiling.

"Um, Shizuku-chan, can I ask you something?" I said.

"Sure, what's up?"  
"When you started working for Tennouji-san, what was it like in the shop and how did she act?"

She stopped to think for a moment. "Well, in all honestly, the shop was sadly empty like now. But for Tennouji-senpai, she was kind of nervous on having me as her apprentice. Maybe because I was an amateur and she already had Rick. But to me, it was almost as if she didn't want anyone at her shop at all. Like, she doesn't want anyone else there, like she wanted to work alone. Sorry, it's difficult to explain."

"No, it's alright. We kinda get what you're saying." I said back. But "work alone"? Well, Tennouji-san is a pro, but...

A sudden chilly breeze broke off my thoughts. The curtains on both of our sides blew with the wind. "I think it's about time we close the windows." I said giving a small laugh.

"Yeah! Oh, but Ichigo, Yamagishi!" Shizuku said before closing her window. "Did you, see anything in my room when my curtains were, you know..?"

I was a little confused, both of us actually. "Uh no," Lemon-chan said.

"Why?" I added.

"Nothing, nevermind. Night!"

"Good night!" We both said at the same time.

* * *

**Tennouji-San's POV**

"Mari, don't you think you should stop for the day? It's almost midnight."

"No, it's alright Honey. I'm fine." I will not fail.

_* "If you can't increase your sales by the end of the month, Im going to have someone else take charge of the shop." *_

And yet, Amano-san, you come to stand in my way again. You are surrounded by friends. Im just surrounded by admirers. No one, other than Henri-sensei, I could open my heart up to. And I am not giving him up to you.

"Mari, you are putting your anger and sadness into the sweets," Honey said to me. I looked at her. "As you do so, the sweets itself wont taste as special. You know to put your heart and soul into them, but currently, your heart is wavering."

I was shocked, but she was right. I heard the rolling pin fall to the floor as I slowly got on my knees. I cant be seen like this. How pathetic of me.

* * *

**Ichigo's POV**

"Good morning Ichigo-senpai!" Said Lemon-chan as I came down the stairs.

"It's about time you got up," Kashino said with a straight face. "You already missed breakfast, we're about to head out to Tennouji-san's shop."

"Aww come on! You couldn't even leave me one pancake?"

"It's your fault for waking up so late," said Chocolat. "But at least you're dressed. You can go out and buy breakfast."

"What?" Vanilla and I both said at the same time. "But... oh fine! I'll see you guys later!" I said walking out the door.

~xXx~

As I was walking though the city, I decided to get some food at a Starbucks Coffee cart.

"Geez, the nerve of them!" I told Vanilla. "They can at least act like friends when it comes to situations like this!"

"It is kinda you're fault..." Vanilla said.

_"My _fault?" I told her.

"Okay, our fault." Then we started laughing.

As I calmed down, I caught a glimpse of the guy in front of me. Other than his money, he was also holding a small piece of paper that said, "_5% off of a medium coffee with any purchase."_ Is that what I think it is?

"_Um, excuse me," _I said. "_Where did you get that coupon?" _

_"Oh, well I didn't get them here, I printed it from online. It's been going on lately, shops everywhere doing printable coupons. Maybe to just get people to look at their website or something." _He said laughing.

But wait- coupons? Online? Website- THAT'S IT!

"_Thank you!" _I quickly got out of line and ran towards Tennouji-san's shop.

"Printable coupons? You thinking what I'm thinking?" Said Vanilla smiling at me. I nodded.

And although I didn't know it, I passed by a small poster that says, "_BEAUTIFUL NIGHT CASTLE AT CENTRAL PARK! SWEETS, MUSIC, AND CELEBRITY GUESTS! SPONSORED BY CHATEAU SEIKA!"_

* * *

_**Me: -Pants- D.O.N.E Short but DONE! -Faints-**_

_**Farine: Why are over exaggerating? It's just about 1700 words...**_

_**Me: -Gets Up- Well if you read above there, I have been ripping my hair out writing and re-writing stories and I just started on a new story.**_

_**Farine: Well dont over work yourself.**_

_**Me: In this heat, dont worry.**_

**_Farine: Review please!_**


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